


Behind the 24th Door

by Caedmon



Series: New History [6]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Advent Calendar, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 03:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8828947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caedmon/pseuds/Caedmon
Summary: The Doctor has been giving Rose a kiss every day through the advent calendar that's counting down the days to Christmas in their flat. On the last day, he gives her a different gift.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Day twelve of ['Advent'.](http://archiveofourown.org/series/596995)

Every morning since December 1, there had been a kiss waiting for Rose. 

A chocolate kiss, that is. Hidden in the little door of the advent calendar that marked each day from atop the shelf near the door.

There were real kisses every day - multiple times a day. There had been for over a year; it seemed that once that one line between the Doctor and Rose had been crossed, the two of them took advantage of every opportunity to snog. That was fine with Rose. She could never get enough of the Doctor’s kisses. 

But for the past three weeks, there had been a little chocolate kiss wrapped in silver foil waiting for her behind each day’s corresponding door. Being the chocoholic that she was, it took great restraint not to open every door at once and gobble all the chocolate down. The Doctor, knowing her as well as he did, headed that off at the pass by putting each kiss in, day by day. 

When Rose checked the advent calendar on the morning of Christmas Eve, she was disappointed to find the little space behind the door. Before she could say anything, the Doctor chided her from across the room without looking up from his paper. 

“Patience, love. I haven’t forgotten.”

She turned to face him. “But you always have it in there for the morning.”

“I told you,” he explained in a very patient tone. “I haven’t forgotten. I want you to get this one tonight, after dinner. Call it dessert if you like. Can you trust me?”

Of course she could, there was no one in this dimension or any other that she trusted more. So she went to the couch where he sat, raised his arm and slid underneath it, curling into his side and flipped on the telly to watch a Christmas movie. 

But she checked that little door on the calendar marked ‘24’, the one that was slightly larger than the others, all day. The kiss never showed up, but she waited for it. It wasn’t even that she wanted the chocolate so badly - she was just bad at surprises. 

It seemed the Doctor was going to test her patience with this one, though, so she did her best to sit on her hands, metaphorically, and wait.

~*~O~*~

They were due for dinner at the mansion at six, so at four, they got into the shower and used up every drop of hot water together before they climbed out, shivering and giggling, and got dressed. Rose kept one eye on the Doctor while she dried her hair and put on her makeup, determined to catch him placing the kiss so she could get it right away. But she never saw him leave the bedroom. She sighed, assuming that meant that he had been serious and she wouldn’t get her treat until they got home for the evening.

She could wait, she told herself. He had something up his sleeve, she just knew it, but she could wait.

~*~O~*~

“C’mon, Doctor! I don’t want to be late!”

“Hold your horses,” he groused. “Honestly. You act like they’ll start without us.”

“She might,” Rose warned. “You know how Mum gets.”

“That I do,” he agreed, slipping on his leather jacket. He walked over to where she stood and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. “Don’t you want to open the calendar?”

“You said I couldn’t have it until tonight.”

He nuzzled her ear. “Maybe I’m the impatient one now.” 

Rose giggled then pointed out, “You haven’t put anything in it yet.”

“Did, too.”

She craned her neck away from him and turned to look at him. “When did you do that?”

He didn’t acknowledge her, just nuzzled her a bit more with a grin. “While you were drying your hair upside down.”

“That was only for a minute,” she mused.

The Doctor straightened, shrugged, then dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Don’t need much time, me. I’m speedy.”

Rose tittered. “Only some of the time.” She gave him a lascivious look, and he pretended to furrow his brow at her. 

“Behave yourself.” 

“You’re impossible.”

He grinned again, big and daft. “Nah. Just improbable. Are you going to open it?”

Rose stepped out of his arms and bounced over to the calendar, bending low and opening the little door, expecting a foil-wrapped little kiss. Instead, there was a small box, wrapped in foil. The foil was brought up to a point overtop and tied with a little blue ribbon, so that it vaguely resembled the shape of a kiss. 

She turned and looked over her shoulder, seeing him take steps towards her and stop an arm’s length away. “What is this?”

He indicated the little silver box in her hand with a nod of his head. “Open it and see.”

Rose’s corner twitched up into a smile, before a wide grin lit up her face. She’d ordered herself a necklace with a pendant made up to look like the TARDIS, not wanting to wear the key any longer but still wanting _something_ of her former life. She’d dropped hints to her mum and the Doctor about it, hoping someone else would pick it up and let it be a gift to her, feeling that it would hold more meaning coming from someone else. It looked as if the Doctor had done it. 

“Thank you,” she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re the absolute best and I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said, bemused. “But aren’t you even going to open it?”

She didn’t let go of his neck. “I will. But you’re - you don’t even know what it means to me that you would get this.”

The Doctor grabbed her by the upper arms and gently pulled her off. “Rose, open the gift, or I’ll do it.” He leaned forward to take the box from her hands, but she swatted him away. 

“I’ll do it,” she announced, then gave him a little grin, her tongue between her teeth. She untied the little ribbon on top and started to unfold the foil around it. When she was done, a black velvet ring box sat in her hand with the foil spread all around it, looking like the petals of a flower. 

“Oh, Doctor. You shouldn’t have.”

He surprised her by rolling his eyes. “Are you ever going to open it?”

“I am opening it!” she protested. 

“So do it!” he shot back with a grin. 

Rose stood on tiptoe to plant another chaste kiss on his mouth, then turned to the box. Biting her lip and grinning broadly, she flipped open the lid and gasped. Her mouth dropped into a perfect ‘o’ and her eyes flew open wide. 

There was no TARDIS pendant inside. There was a gold ring with a huge, sparkly diamond flanked by bright blue sapphires. She gaped at it, tears pricking the backs of her eyes, then the Doctor plucked the box from her hand. She didn’t protest, just turned her saucer-like eyes to him. 

“Rose Tyler, I was a mess when you found me. And make no mistake...I may have found you in that basement, but it’s really you who found me. I was in...just so much pain. I wanted to die. And you...you were everything to me. You were my light in the darkness, you saved me. You gave me hope. You gave me a reason to live. And I don’t want to live without you. 

“I’ve only got this one life, Rose. There are only a set amount of years that I have left. But I want to spend those with you, if you’ll have me. If you want.”

“Oh, Doctor,” she breathed, bringing her hands up to her face.

“What I’m asking is…” He stopped there and dropped to one knee, holding the box up to her as an offering. “Rose Tyler, be my wife?”

“ _Yes!_ she cried, throwing her arms around him and tackling them both to the rug. He laughed, a full, happy sound, and she giggled, too, before she kissed him and stole both their laughter. When they pulled away, neither of them were quite ready to let the other go and there were several little kisses between smiles. 

The two finally untangled their limbs and sat up, tears coursing down Rose’s cheeks. The Doctor cleared his throat and Rose could tell he was fighting his own tears.

“Hand,” he requested, and she complied, putting her left hand out. He took it, bringing it to his lips and kissing her knuckles lightly before slipping the ring onto her finger and kissing it there, almost like a blessing. 

When he let go, Rose turned her hand this way and that, letting the light catch the stones, then with a squeal tackled him back to the floor, showering his face with kisses and fervently whispered ‘I love you’s. His hands came up around her, roaming her back until it drifted down to her bum, and the kiss turned languid.

~*~O~*~

Jackie was waiting for them at the door, tapping her foot with Tony on her hip, when they arrived at her house for Christmas dinner nearly an hour and a half late. She softened immediately upon seeing the reason and squealed, pulling Rose into a tight hug then coming for the Doctor and doing the same. Champagne was called for, and the family celebrated being complete - the first Christmas of many.

~*~O~*~

The next morning, Christmas day, the Doctor handed Rose another small box. It contained a necklace with a jewel-encrusted police box inside. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my 100th posted Doctor Who fic. <3 Thank you all so much for reading and inspiring me!


End file.
